film, comedy, poetry, literature, theatre, & cabaret for Latitude

Latitude which takes place at Henham Park Estate in Suffolk from Thursday 12th to Sunday 15th July 2006 yesterday announced the first acts for this year, along with some of the non-musical entertainment. The music stuff can be found here, and below are the details of the film and comedy, and more.

MUSIC & FILM
The Music and Film Tent will open its doors to the Halloween Music And Film Club which provide a full schedule of specifically chosen shorts, art and silent films and visuals, accompanied by live music, videos, dancers and DJ’s. This year the Music and Film Arena will have a more jazz club feel to it with small tables and lamps with velvet drapes. There will be filmmakers, award winning shorts, directors’ question and answer sessions, films set to new and original scores and a nostalgic look at the 1950's jazz and blues era.

Latitude is delighted to announce BAFTA's involvement with the festival this year. The British Academy of Film and Television Arts exists to support, develop and promote the art forms of the moving image, by identifying and rewarding excellence, inspiring practitioners and benefiting the viewing public.

Also, Latitude will be showing Alfred Hitchcock's first film "The Lodger" (silent movie) with soundtrack written by Joby Talbot of the Divine Comedy, and the score performed by a live orchestra (possibly by the Lake Stage though that is to be confirmed).

COMEDY ARENA
The Comedy Arena will feature comedians Alan Carr, Stewart Lee, Mark Steele, Russell Howard, The Early Edition, Jason Manford, Russell Kane, Michael McIntyre, Mike Wilmot, Shappi Khorsandi, Kevin Day, Cole Parker, with Guilty Pleasures taking over after hours for the ultimate in feel good musical fun. There's still more comedy to be announced.

POETRY ARENA
Showcasing the very best in contemporary performance poets, The Poetry Arena was hugely popular last year, changing many people's perceptions as to how poetry readings could be. Comedy sketches alongside Hip Hop, slam poets, raconteurs, spoken word, lyricism, storytelling, rappers and much much more made this tent a roaring success for punters and performers alike. So much so that some of the funniest, satirical, hard-hitting, absurd, bizarre, and witty poets are returning for this year’s event.

Appearing will be Roger McGough, John Hegley, Murray Lachlan Young, Luke Wright, Aisle16, Crisis, Polar Bear, John Berkavitch, Inua 'Phaze' Ellams, Clare Pollard, Niall O’Sullivan, John Osborne, Yanny Mac & Pikey Paddy, Joe Dunthorne, Tim Clare, Jenny Lindsay, Steve Larkin, Byron Vincent, Francesca Beard, and Kat Francois.

LITERATURE ARENA
One of the most talked about and successful aspects of Latitude last year was the Literature Tent. The cosy ‘library’ with its over-sized book by the entrance enticed passers-by into the hub of laughter and discussion inside. Many who popped in for a quick break from the sun found themselves leaving many hours later, lost in the flights of fancy and comic genius of these book readings with a difference.

The Book Club returns under the tutelage of Robin Ince, with bizarre and ridiculous comedy, tap dancing, accordion orchestras and dramatized Mills and Boon book readings. Robin Ince’s Book Club gathers together the most exciting comedians on the International circuit including Stewart Lee (Olivier Award Winner), Simon Munnery (Attention Scum), Josie Long (if.comedy Best Newcomer, BBC Best Newcomer), Jo Neary (Perrier nominee), and many more. Each day brings together the carefully prepared and the haphazardly thrown together, with nights of terrifying horror, beautiful love and all ending up on the final night with a glamorous and glittery Christmas Special.

The well-known writer Louis de Bernieres (Captain Corelli’s Mandolin, Birds without Wings) reads his own and other people’s poetry and plays an amazing variety of instruments together with The Ilonious Players: flautists Ilone Antonius-Jones and Tina Gandy.

Showcasing the very best in contemporary authors and guest speakers the hippest and coolest literary event in the country Vox ’n’ Roll also returns for a second year. Readings from big name authors plus rock n roll writers combined with music provide alternative takes on literature with forums and discussions on music, albums, gigs, and the industry at large over the festival weekend.

At 7pm each night kids can snuggle up crossed legged on the carpet in their pyjamas and settle down to the Children’s Book at Bedtime session; old and new favourites guaranteed to send the little nippers off into dreamland. Sleepy adults also welcome!

If its vampires, ghosts and werewolves that take your fancy though, don’t miss the late night Horror Fiction Half Hour. Bone shaking, mind twisting, head rambling, spine shivering tales from the depths of minds which will be sure to leave your neck hairs standing on end. In the candlelight with the dark forest and the deep lake very close by, it’ll be enough to make your flesh crawl! Don’t forget your blanket and torch.

Joining in the fun, writer Patrick Neate’s legendary Book Slam comes to Latitude with their first class crew of top writers and the finest live music lyricists.

After a day of fun, enjoy some late night scares with Ewen’s Ghost Stories! Ewen MacIntosh (Keith from The Office) brings his hit Edinburgh show down South. Join Ewen and some very special guests as they attempt to put the heebie jeebies up you with some spooky tales. Not for the faint hearted!

THEATRE ARENA
With exclusive short plays written and commissioned for the festival and every opportunity for audience participation, the Theatre Tent at Latitude has something for everyone, with a full schedule of plays, performances, workshops and more running over the whole weekend.

The Royal Court Theatre returns to Latitude with a series of short sharp plays about town and country – five windows on the world, five minutes each.

Nabokov is a new writing theatre company dedicated to commissioning, developing and producing backlash theatre - new work for the stage that offers an antagonistic response to contemporary agendas, trends and events. At Latitude they present their ‘Shorts’ – a forum where new writers have the opportunity to test new work in front of an audience and receive constructive feedback with a cultural mix of theatre, comedy, music, film and poetry to keep it interesting.

Fat Tongue are Sophie Black (London International Playwrights Festival), Seb (Best Producer for the Fuji Film Scholarship Cardinal) and Dustin Demri-Burns (nominated for a Scottish BAFTA). They write and perform a unique brand of sketch comedy that has caused an unexpected stir on the London circuit, with material that boasts originality and spark as they bring bizarre situations to life.

An exciting physical, musical and visual show exploring beds is brought to Latitude by the female-only Paper Birds Theatre Company. ‘40 Feathered Winks’ follows the stories of 8 people’s relationships in, on and with their beds, exploringh the bed as a universal and personal place in which we spend a third of our life.

The Small Change Theatre Company brings Quicksleeve’s Pledge, a short comic piece (approximately half an hour) that follows a sad DJ who attempts to create friends through a crap request show.

Lizzie Roper reveals the fetishes and naughtiest secrets of real people and delves into the nations views on sex in her documentary comedy.

Colin and Fergus combine a mixture of acutely observed sketches and amusingly warped recurring characters.

Down by the lake is one of the most beautiful settings there is for outdoor theatre, and it's where local theatre group Mouth To Mouth will perform Midsummers Night Dream.

CABARET ARENA
There's Moulin Rouge Cabaret, Bollywood Dance Classes, Musical Show Stars Karaoke, Puppetry Of The Pops, and Men's Burlesque Workshops. You can see how the Can-can is supposed to be done with the Moulin Rouge Cabaret, sing along to The Smith at the Spoof Top of the Pops or learn how about the craft of puppetry at the Puppet Workshop and if that's not enough for you why not watch a male friends embarrass himself by learning to dance and wear a corset at the Men's Burlesque Workshop.

THE ‘IN THE WOODS’ STAGE
Small, hidden and tucked away. The joy of finding it, the joy of experiencing it. In 2006 it was late night only. In 2007 it becomes a stage to be found in the day and the night. Hosting the intimate and surreal in the daylight hours and partying dance in the night, this amazing little stage will be a festival of its own. Radio 1’s Rob De Bank will headline the Saturday night ‘In The Woods’.

AND... IN THE WOODS GENERALLY
Returning to Latitude this year is Dialogue Artist Karl James and his Listening Shed deep in the woods, where you can sit quietly and listen to a series of private conversations made public; tenderly edited and often set to music. The conversations themselves are moving and disarmingly honest, on topics most people find too hard to talk about openly, like fear, pain and conflict. The voices you hear belong to people with first hand experience of these issues: a self-harming girl, a dominatrix, a priest, a philosopher, 5 year olds and a young man called Anjelo who (on listening back to his dialogue with Karl) said: “You captured my words in a way that almost allows people to feel what I felt.” (Anjelo was the victim of a fire-bomb attack in London and talks about what it’s like to see yourself on fire.)

And...of course, the wonderful art exhibitions and art trails that were such a feature as you wandered or hunted for that little piece of treasure at the end of the trail.

CHILDREN
There's a designated Children’s area with swings and slides and all manner of things to climb over. Join in the fun with clay modelling, finger-painting, even a treasure hunt through the beautiful woods and between 7pm and 9pm each night, a special childrens ‘Book at Bedtime’.

Tickets are now on sale, priced at £112 for the weekend. or £45 per day. To buy tickets, click here.

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